


The Nature of a Thing

by FeaRauko



Category: Supernatural
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 05:24:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16696264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeaRauko/pseuds/FeaRauko
Summary: Wherein Dean tries to figure out what he and Cas are to each other





	The Nature of a Thing

 

Dean wasn’t sure when it became a thing, but it was definitely a thing. At least...he _thought_ it was a thing. It was probably a thing.

He watched as the coffee finished filtering into the pot. Sam walked into the kitchen and so he poured two cups of coffee instead of one.  

“Mornin’, Sammy.” Dean absent-mindedly handed Sam his cup and sat at the table. He was _pretty sure_ it was a thing. It...it _was_ a thing, right?

“Morning, Dean.” Sam brought the cup to his lips.

“Hey, Sam, Cas and I are a thing, right?”

Sam spewed his coffee back into the mug and sputtered for a moment. “What??”

“I mean...do you think that me and Cas are...you know…?

Sam gave him a withering look. “Don’t you think that this is something that makes more sense for _me_ to be asking _you?”_ Something in Dean’s face must have made Sam both realize that Dean was serious and take pity on him, because he sighed and joined him at the table.

“Look, I don’t know, Dean...” Sam paused like he was trying to choose his words carefully. “It’s hard not to notice the way you two are around each other. But...it’s also hard to put a label on what your relationship is. I mean, Cas is like another brother to us. I love him like family, but with you two...there seems to be something else mixed in with it...like the way you two stare at each other sometimes. There’s been so many times the two of you stared, and I watched, and you kept staring, and staring, and it got to the point where maybe you should have...like...kissed or something? But you didn’t...and...I don’t know. You two confuse me. There’s definitely a thing, but you two also don’t fit into any kind of typical relationship...and it’s probably a good idea to not try to force what you have into a mold.”

Dean thought on what Sam said. He was right. Even if he and Cas were a thing, there’s no way it was a typical thing. You didn’t find a lot of relationships out there that began with one person pulling the other out of hell and the second stabbing the first for it. Not to mention how many times they had both been taken away from each other and all of the world-ending crises they had fought through. To top it off they weren’t even the same species. No, there was no mold for them, but even so…

“But…” Sam continued cautiously, “Even though I don’t think it would be a good idea to force yourselves to be anything you’re not, or to try to fit into some cookie-cutter mold…” Sam took a deep breath, “it might be a good idea for you and Cas to talk it over, maybe try to _define_ whatever your, you know, _thing_ is.”

Dean furrowed his brow and nodded. “Yeah. Kinda what I was just thinking, but...how do I even…”

“Look, Dean, just...talk to Cas about it, okay? You can stress about it and talk to me all you want but this is something that you two are going to have to work out.”

“Sam. Dean.” Dean jumped a little when Cas greeted them as he made his way to the coffee pot. The coffee had no effect on him. In fact, he seemed somewhat bitter about that fact. Dean knew that it wasn’t even as pleasant to him now as it was when he was human...but Cas drank it anyway. Dean smirked as he considered that Cas probably drank it out of spite and for the sake of being grumpy. Cas poured a cup and scowled down at it like it offended him, which Dean found way cuter than it probably was.

Cas downed the coffee and set the empty mug aside. “So what is it that you need to talk to me about, Dean?”

Dean coughed, set his coffee down, and suddenly wished that there was something stronger in his mug than coffee. He looked to Sam, who just raised his eyebrows and gestured his hands towards Cas in a _go ahead_ sort of motion. Dean made a face. Sam was no help. He looked back at Cas. He kept looking. After a moment Dean realized that he was completely lost in looking at Cas the way Sam had accused him of only moments before. He sighed.

“Cas, is this a thing?”

Cas lifted an eyebrow. “Morning coffee?”

“No, Cas, _this!_ ” Dean moved his hand back and forth between them. “Is...is _this_ a thing?”

Cas mimicked Dean’s motion. “Yes, Dean, I do believe this is a thing…”

Well, that wasn’t hard. “Ha! Well, uh, awesome. See, Sam? It’s a thing.” He looked at Sam who was somehow managing to both smirk and give him a _oh my Chuck, how did I get stuck with these two poor idiots_ look.

“Uh, Dean, I think he means that he recognizes _this”_ Sam mimicked Dean’s original hand motion, “to indeed be a relatively common gesture that he has seen before and can verify as ‘a thing.’”

Dean scowled at his brother. When he looked back at Cas, the confused scowl and head tilt on his favorite angel confirmed what Sam had said. He could hear Sam fighting back a laugh across the table...the little shit.

Dean scrubbed his hand over his face and tried again. “Okay. Cas, you...you said one time that you and I had a...a ‘profound bond.’ What exactly does that even mean?”

Cas leaned against the counter and considered this for a moment. “I would say that it means much more that it did at the time.”

Dean scoffed. “Well, that’s uh...that’s something. And vague.”

Cas met his eyes. “Yes.”

Dean waited.

Cas’s brow furrowed. “So, you want to know if you and I are a thing…”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Cas, um, was that an answer or were you just saying that you understand the question now?”

Cas rolled his eyes and fixed Dean with a look that was almost...mischievous. And then...did Cas look hurt? “Of course we’re a thing, Dean.” The pause was almost long enough for Dean to get excited before Cas continued. “So are Sam and I.” _Wait...what?_ Dean’s head was spinning _“_ Also, you and Sam are a thing. Every connection, every relationship is a thing. Every _thing_ is a _thing_. To say that our relationship is not even a thing would be extremely insulting and I am hurt that you are even struggling with this.”

“Cas, I…”

But Cas was suddenly crouched in front of him, in Dean’s face, so close that he could feel his breath. The mischievous grin was back, but there was also a serious look in his eyes that was...hopeful...and kinda sad. “Unless, by chance, what you are really trying to understand is the nature of this…” Cas motioned between them, “particular _thing..._ between the two of us.”

Castiel remained close, his eyes searching Dean’s. They really were an unfair shade of blue. Dean took him in. He couldn’t imagine ever having to be without Cas, this man that he had literally been to hell...and heaven...and purgatory… and back with. Cas was his friend, his brother...but that was the thing, wasn’t it? You were allowed to have more than one friend or brother. But whatever this was, Dean only wanted there to be one of it.

“It’s…” Dean swallowed, “I don’t know what it is. It’s big. It’s so many things. It’s not enough things. It’s everything. And I want more of it. I need more of it.”

Cas closed his eyes and sighed. “I...would like that.”

“Awesome. That’s...that’s awesome.” Dean’s head was swimming. Were they really having this conversation? Was this…

“Dean...” Cas’s eyes were open now but pointedly not meeting his. Dean’s heart sank for a moment before he realized Cas was staring at his lips. “Dean, does ‘wanting more of it’ include me being able to kiss you now? Because I think that I would really…”

Dean pulled Cas in by the his lapels. The rest of Cas’s statement was cut off by Dean’s lips as he closed what was left of the gap between them. One of his hands released Cas’s coat to wander up to his face. Dean stroked his thumb down the stubble along his jawline. Cas let out a quiet moan as he stood, pulling Dean up with him and wrapping his arms around him, holding Dean close. The kiss remained chaste, but Dean heard a soft whimper escape his own lips as he felt Cas’s body strong against his. Dean’s fingers found their way into Cas’s unruly hair.

“So...this is a thing now huh?” Bobby’s gruff voice sounded amused but not very surprised from where he stood, leaning against the doorway.

“Yeah, Bobby, apparently it is.” Oh...they had forgotten Sam was still absolutely in the room.

Dean separated himself from Cas just enough to be polite to the rest of the room. He leaned his forehead against Cas’s, breathing deeply, grinning like a fool, trying to control that giddy sort of laughter that shows up not when something’s funny but rather because sometimes a smile just isn’t enough.

“Hell, yeah, it’s a thing.”

  



End file.
